Gasland’s Josh Fox Kicked Off Fox Business

A Fox Business discussion with Gasland director and anti-fracking activist Josh Fox went way off the rails today. It ended with Fox calling host Stuart Varney a liar and Varney ending the interview and asking Fox to leave.

Presumably, Fox Business was eager to host Fox because he is critical of President Obama’s pro-fracking stance. As the two argued about that and a recent EPA report about the effects of fracking on ground water, Varney said that he lives in upstate New York and that the locals have long joked about being able to light their tap water on fire (as Gasland famously illustrated) but before there was fracking.

That’s when the already contentious interview fell apart completely.

“That’s absolutely not true. …You are absolutely wrong,” Fox argued. “I do believe you are lying right now.”

“Lying? The interview is over, young man,” Varney replied. “The interview is over. I am not lying. I did it myself. Thank you. Goodbye. You’re out of here, son. You are out of here. Don’t call me a liar. Don’t do that, son. Don’t do it.

Fox continued talking even as Varney spoke. “You were clearly obfuscating the truth over and over again during this segment,” Fox said.

Varney interrupted to say, “Cut. ...That’s it. Thank you very much, sir. Will you please leave?”

Watch it below, from the June 8 Varney and Company, via Media Matters.

Showing 8 reactions

I don’t agree with Mr. Fox entirely on this. I’ve seen evidence that this methane problem has been around for decades.
What Fox should be, and is, pointing out is that nothing has been done for decades to fix this problem. Whether he ties it to fracking or cows farting, he’s made it a National conversation and should be applauded for that.
That’s my take-away from this situation. Government should have cleaned this up years ago and is failing residents by sitting on there hands.
Did Varney also Lie when he called Josh Fox “son?” I don’t think Mr. Fox is Stuart Varney’s son. Will BarbaraB be calling for Varney to apologize, when I think it’s obvious that Varney used that term, “son,” in a derogatory tone? Or, “name-calling” as she might say!

By the way, BarbaraB, it was Varney who did the “name calling.” Fox merely said that Varney was lying. THAT sounds like an “opinion” (which, for the record, is perfectly legal) just like Varney’s little “joke” (did he offer proof that people in his fellow locals in “upstate New York” really did say that?).

Saying someone is lying is NOT “name calling.” (And when you invite someone on your show because he’s critical of Obama but also opposes one of your network’s positions at the same time, there’s something worse than “lying” for which you can/should be accused.)

FoxNoise Business brought on a guest who’s critical of an Obama “pro-fracking” policies—policies which, by the way, FoxNoise supports in general (I certainly don’t recall reading any stories where FoxNoise has attacked the legislatures of states like Texas and Oklahoma which have instituted bans on local governments’ attempting to ban fracking; sorry for that sentence structure reading so awkwardly but how do you make “banning bans” read any more clearly?). But it’s only when the guest calls the host a liar that the guest is uninvited.

Did I get that right?

Like I’ve said many times, Obama needs to make a speech where he endorses breathing just so his deranged opponents would show just how much they hate him by refusing to breathe until Obama spoke out against breathing.